


Destiny Awaits

by Sanalith



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-21
Updated: 2012-03-21
Packaged: 2017-11-02 08:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/366939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanalith/pseuds/Sanalith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Heian Go master dreams about the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Destiny Awaits

Fujiwarano Sai was dreaming.

  
The Go master didn’t dream often, as his mind was generally so exhausted after a long day of teaching that it didn’t have the energy to think up nightly visions. Perhaps he had been more distracted today, or simply less tired.

  
Or maybe his subconscious truly needed to tell him something, and somehow it knew this was its last chance.

  
Whatever the reason, however, today he dreamed.

  
And what a dream it was.

  
As with so many other dreams, everything made perfect sense while he was asleep, but upon waking, it left him sorely confused. He was in Japan, that much he knew, though he recognized none of his surroundings. Buildings tall enough to touch the sky towered around him, as dense as trees in a forest, and loud, smelly carriages roared past him with the speed of a hundred horses. He was still dressed in his formal court robes, but everyone around him sported strange, scandalously slight outfits. Sai possessed a feeling of confusion, as if he didn’t quite understand what was going on or where he was, but there was a strong sense of _rightness_ about it, as well. He definitely belonged here, wherever and whatever _here_ was.

  
The scene suddenly shifted and he was inside a brightly lit room, standing behind a young boy with dark hair and blonde bangs. Sai felt himself relax in relief. Before them was a Go board, halfway covered in black and white stones. Sai was instructing the boy where to play, and the familiar motions immediately soothed him. This was right. This was home.

  
Any place with a Go board was home.

  
Sai felt a small smile touch his lips as he watched the boy clumsily place the stones on the indicated crosshairs. He held them without grace and his moves were jerky, but somehow Sai knew that this was the beginning of something so much bigger than anyone could possibly imagine. This boy held within him the seed of greatness. He would one day grow up to turn the world of Go on its ear, and pride swelled in his heart at the knowledge that he would play a part in that.

  
Somewhat reluctantly, Sai turned his attention from his student to their opponent, another young boy. Sai felt a smile of an entirely different sort light up his features as he watched this boy play. His moves were flawlessly executed with a natural elegance and fluidity that came only to those who’d learned Go from the cradle. His style was thoughtful yet aggressive, with none of the brashness he usually attributed to youth. The boy was nowhere near his own league, but he responded to his moves with intelligence and assurance. In years to come, this boy _would_ be his equal. He had the passion and the wisdom already. All he needed was time.

  
Tender attachment for one and respect for the other. Sai felt himself frown in confusion. The feelings were _right_ , somehow, but where had they come from?

  
He looked back down at the boy who was playing his moves, and he felt an incredibly deep connection surging through them, one he couldn’t understand at all but was helpless to ignore. He could almost feel what the boy was thinking and feeling. It was almost as though they shared the same mind, the same soul.

  
How strange…

  
And that was when his opponent looked up and locked eyes with his blonde-banged partner, and Sai felt his heart skip a beat.

  
Oh yes, Sai was indeed connected with the young man before him. Whatever they shared and however they shared it, their bond ran deep, and he knew with certainty that it would never fade. But even so deep a melding of minds was _nothing_ compared to what the two boys would one day share themselves.

  
Passion, fire, determination, unswerving and single-minded focus – _that_ was what lie dormant between them, just beginning to awaken. They were like two suns destined to revolve around one another for all time. A fixation that would one day cross the line into obsession was alive and well in both their hearts, hungering to be released. Sai shivered slightly, knowing that there would come a time when nothing else would matter to them but each other. Everything else would become simple background noise.

  
Sai felt a brief surge of envy. He loved the boy sitting in front of him, and that love would one day be returned with a passion that Sai himself could never dream of. But the boy with the sharp emerald eyes would always come first, would claim his soul in a way Sai never could. His teachings and his feelings could not hold a candle to those of the boy who would become the center of his existence.

  
Unless…

  
Sai felt his heart constrict. Could that be the point? Was he here to teach the boy Go…or to throw him into the world of the one who could truly change his life?

  
The envy faded slowly, replaced with a growing contentment. Either way, his companion would be happy, and Sai would have a hand in that. That was right. That was good.

  
With a smile, Sai raised his fan and pointed to the next move.

  
*******

  
A firm knock on the door pulled Sai out of his dreamscape, though he relinquished the vision with regret. He had been so happy there, so free…

  
Blinking the last visages of sleep from his violet eyes, Sai straightened his robes and opened the door. His favorite student, Norinaga Tatsu, stood at attention in the ornate hallway.

  
“It is time, sensei,” Tatsu said softly. “The emperor awaits.”

  
Sai nodded, outwardly calm but trembling slightly inside. Of course. He had momentarily forgotten. Today was his battle with the emperor’s second Go instructor, the one who hated Sai with a passion and who was bound and determined to see him exiled. Sai felt yet another pang of regret touch his heart. It was no wonder he had been so reluctant to leave his dream world when reality was so harsh.

  
Silently, Sai checked his appearance once more in front of his large mirror, making some minor adjustments. His mind was surprisingly empty, given the gravity of the situation. He was nervous, yes, but the dream had given him a strange sort of contentment. Whatever happened here, he knew he would see the young boy from his vision again. Somehow, that was enough.

  
Satisfied with his attire, Sai picked up his ornamental fan, giving the tip a ritual kiss for good luck. With a bow, Tatsu turned smartly and led the way to the royal audience chamber, Sai following in his wake.

  
It was clear that the companion in his dreams had been facing the boy who would one day become his greatest rival. It was now time for Sai to face his.

  
*******

  
Over centuries the dream faded, images blurring and actions coalescing. But the feelings never lessened, and one thousand years later, when Sai came face to face with his destiny, he knew what he had to do.


End file.
